Shuttle Insulation Blanket

This blanket was designed to protect the Space Shuttle from high speed
flying objects such as space born micro-meteoroids.

It consists of a heavily woven Aramid Kevlar fabric bordered with a high temperature
and high strength Kapton foil that was used to protect the Space Shuttle structure
from solar radiation. There is a high strength stainless steel thread used to
reenforced this space artifact. If you observe photos of the Space shuttle
Cargo Bay you will notice extensive use of these blankets.

This is an excellent example of a flown blanket. It is made of a Beta-Cloth material
developed to be fire resistant. If you observe photos of the Space shuttle Cargo
Bay you will notice extensive use of these blankets.

Most blankets are periodically replaced on a scheduled basis with these flown
articles discarded as scrap. NASA even stencils the word "SCRAP" in red ink so
they will not be mistakenly used again.

The documentation includes an orange tag and a scrap matrix document. This item
was originally acquired at public Auction in 2000 from an ex-NASA employee.

Front view:
(Source image 1185 x 878 pixels)
The shape is closer to being triangular rather than rectangular.

Rear view:
(Source image 1251 x 956 pixels)

The tag (difficult to see in this picture) contains:

V070-362157-014

OCN-03953-AM3900

Front view with the cut flap pushed open:
(Source image 1017 x 975 pixels)
This blanket was examined after removal by NASA contractor personnel by cutting
a small square opening in the top surface. All the material still remains.

NASA Scrap Matrix (photocopy):
(Source image 1024 x 785 pixels)
This sheet describes the reason the item is being scrapped. The blanket is
item 1238 (NASA Part Number V070-362157-014).